Dog Days
by Lightning Catastrophe
Summary: Shikamaru's a dog! This is the result of Kiba's new jutsu that goes A-wall, and there seems to be no immediate cure. But what happens when Shikamaru ends up getting taken in by none other than Temari? Shikamaru finds himself falling for her. ShikaTema
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first ever Naruto fic, let alone pairing fic. Characters may be OOC, b/c I'm not too sure of how to portray them, so I'm doin my research and reading other FanFics, so later on it'll probably improve :D**

**If your reading my other stories (FinalFantasyXIII) sorry I havent updated in like a year :S Im working on TWoLSaS but I've had terrible writer's block and I'm really quite lazy when it comes to dedication. Sorry x3**

**This story was inspired by a ShikaKiba story I read a while ago, where Naruto's jutsu goes wrong and turns Shikamaru into a dog and him and Kiba get all lovey dovey. It's actually really good story if you don't mind/if you like yaoi, so go try and find it. I can't remember the name and author though, sorry Dx Anyways, so my fic is not going to be a repeat of that story exactly it;ll be similair (author of that story plz dun kill me ;_;) And this is a ShikaTema story too. Oh, and this won't have any sex scenes in it. Sowwy for those of you who'd want one xD**

**Pairing: ShikaTema (Shikamaru x Temari)  
>Rating: T for language and maybe nudity<strong>

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor Naruto Shippuden, its characters, places, trademarks, ect.**

**Enjoy and R&R please! ^V^**

_Thinking  
><em>"Talking"  
><em>'Shikamaru ThinkingTalking'_

* * *

><p><strong>Dog Days<strong>

It was a bright sunny day out, with few clouds in the sky. A gentle breeze filled Konoha, the city of the Hidden Leaf every few minutes. It was a nice, warm and fuzzy temperature out. The perfect day in Shikamaru Nara's opinion. Shikamaru was considered the laziest ninja ever to walk in the Hidden Leaf, and he loved to lie in the grass and watch the clouds pass. The ninja is fifteen, and has already been made a jounin. The past few years has been the perfect time to relax for Shikamaru, as his friend Naruto left three years ago to train with Jiraiya-sensei for those years. He was due back in Konoha any day now. Shikamaru had long hair that he kept in a ponytail, black eyes, pale skin, and he wore the standard jounin outfit, with his forehead protector tied to his left bicep.

Today, Kiba and his dog Akamaru of the Inuzuka clan called him out to their team's usual training grounds, because they wanted to show Shikamaru their new jutsu. Kiba Inuzuka was a short-tempered and reckless boy with short, spiky brown hair, tanned skin, and his appearance seemed more feral than human most of the time. His irises were black, his pupils cat-like. He had fangs like a dog and on his cheeks were the Inuzuka trade mark; on each cheek was one fang painted red. He wore his forehead protector on his forehead, and he didn't wear the normal Konoha chuunin vest, and instead wore a black leather jacket with a fishnet shirt beneath, black cupris, a black leg pouch, and black sandals. His appearance had changed much since Naruto left.

"Ugh, so what was this jutsu you wanted to show me, Kiba?" Shikamaru yawned sleepily as he stretched lazily. "I was napping."

Kiba Inuzuka grinned and smashed his hands together, getting ready to create a ninjutsu.

"Ready for this awesomeness?" Kiba asked a broad grin on his face. Throughout the three years of Naruto's absence, Kiba hasn't changed that much. A bit more mature, yes, but he basically replaced Naruto while he was gone.

"Sure." Shikamaru replied dully. _I really just wanna sleep_... he thought disappointedly.

"Alright! Inu Tanken-Justu!" Kiba exclaimed, and suddenly the three of them (Akamaru was standing beside Kiba) were clouded in smoke.

"There! Isn't it awesome? I'm a dog!" Kiba asked, grinning, but slowly his grin faded as he looked himself over. He was exactly the same as he had been moments ago, and very much human.

"Hey, what gives?" he growled angrily, frowning. Akamaru whined anxiously. "Hm? What is it Akamaru?"

Akamaru made a whimpering noise and pointed in front of him with his nose. Kiba looked in front of him as the smoke cleared. Shikamaru had vanished from his spot against the tree. In his place, at the very base of the tree, was a puppy. And to be exact, it was a Glen Imaal Terrier. It was extremely small, about the size of a large stone. The pup had furry little ears that were erect, except that in the midsection the ears became floppy. Its fur was chocolate brown, almost black, and it had a beige muzzle, and a cute little brown nose. Its eyes were completely black it seemed, and they appeared furious.

"Sh-Shikamaru?" Kiba demanded his jaw dropping to the ground.

_'Yes it's me you idiot!' _Shikamaru wanted to exclaim, but all that came out were frustrated yips and yaps. From where Shikamaru was, now not even a foot above the ground, Kiba seemed to be some godly deity, and Akamaru a gigantic mountain.

"Oh shit, shit, shit, uhhh okay, I'll get you back to normal buddy," Kiba tried to assure Shikamaru panickedly. He put his hands together in the same position as he had before, and with a determined look on his face shouted, "Henge!"

All three boys sweat dropped.

_'Kiba!'_ Shikamaru growled.

"Ah, I'm sorry! It'll work this time, I know it! Henge!" Nothing happened. "Aw man, why isn't anything working?" Kiba growled, getting annoyed. "Okay we're bringing you to the hospital. Sorry bud." Kiba sighed, and moved towards Shikamaru.

_'No way am I going to the hospital! I'm out of here.'_ Shikamaru thought. It would be too troublesome to explain exactly _why_ he was a dog and then relay the explanation to his dad.

Suddenly, Shikamaru took off at a shocking speed, back towards town.

"What the? Shikamaru! Get back here!" Kiba shouted, startled. "God dammit, let's go Akamaru!" Akamaru was at Kiba's side in a second, and the Inuzuka hopped onto his loyal dog's back. The next moment they were halfway behind the Nara jounin.

_'Ugh, this is so troublesome.'_ Shikamaru thought. Suddenly, a squirrel made a beeline past him in a different direction. The next thing Shikamaru knew, he was happily chasing after the squirrel, barking and yapping and sprinting as he gave chase.

_Where is he going? _Kiba wondered, just as Akamaru changed directions and ran after the Shikamaru-puppy.

"Shikamaru!" Kiba shouted angrily, and launched himself off of Akamaru once he was in range.

_'What the hell? Why am I enjoying chasing a squirrel that's bigger than _I _am?'_

Suddenly, everything vanished from view for a few moments as Kiba tackled the small dog, pulling him into his chest just as the two went rolling straight into a tree.

Akamaru trotted over, making strange snorting noises as Kiba's eyes spun in circles.

"Ugh...remind me to never do that again, Akamaru. Never." Akamaru barked once for confirmation. Shaking the dizziness off, Kiba moved his arms away from his chest, revealing a terrified ball of fluff. Kiba set Shikamaru down on the grass, and Shikamaru began to stumble around, and then fell over.

"Heh, I guess Nara's down for the count for a little while." Kiba observed sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. "Akamaru, what should we do with him?" Kiba asked, unzipping his jacket a little so that he could fit the small pup inside like he used to with Akamaru.

Akamaru barked gruffly thrice.

"Hana! That's right, maybe she can figure out how to reverse the jutsu."

And with that, Kiba mounted Akamaru and the three ran off towards the Inuzuka residence.

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><p><strong>Flames, Remarks, Anything is accepted.<strong>

**And are the characters too OOC?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright! Onto Chapter 2! **

**And glad to know you guys like it so far, thank you so much for reviews! They truly motivate me to write!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto Shippuden or it's characters blah blah blah. On with it!**

_Thinking  
><em>"Talking"  
><em>'Shakimaru thinkingtalking'_

* * *

><p><strong>Dog Days<br>Chapter Two**

"So do you think you can cure him, sis?" Kiba asked anxiously, arms crossed, as he stood in the doorway of his sister's bedroom; a small room with a large bed in the centre by the window where Hana was examining Shikamaru, a night table beside it, a dark brown dresser on the other side of the bed, a matching medium-sized chest that contained her medical supplies for emergencies, and a small closet containing her clothing by her bedroom door. The walls were pale blue and the floor was covered by a gray carpet.

Hana sighed and straightened up, and gave an irritable Shikamaru a pat on the head before picking him up gently and lifting him off of her tall bed and placing him on the carpet, where he sneezed and padded over to the corner where he yawned and went to sleep.

"Honestly Kiba, I have no idea what you did to that poor boy. I took a blood sample and his cells are more canine than human. More than ours are in fact. What was that jutsu of yours supposed to accomplish anyways?" Hana demanded with a bemused expression as she packed up her emergency veterinary kit, her eyebrow raised, a slight smirk playing on her lips.

"Oh. Well it was suppose to turn _me_ into a dog ... I wanted to see what it was like to be a dog." Kiba said simply, shrugging his shoulders.

Hana's eyebrow rose up her forehead if possible, even further. "And in battle, how is that jutsu supposed to help? Are you going to chew on their ankles in the form of a tiny little puppy?" Hana inquired, gesturing to the dozing Shikamaru. "Especially if you can't even _turn back into a human_."

Kiba scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Well, it _was_ supposed to be just for enjoyment. Like Naruto and his 'Sexy Jutsu'."

"Except that Naruto's jutsu is – pathetically – useful in battle, if he has some perverted ninjas fighting him." Hana shot back, not missing a beat.

Kiba scowled, and opened his mouth to retort before he looked at Shikamaru, stuck as a dog because of his stupid faulty jutsu. He closed it and his expression softened in guilt; a rare emotion Kiba ever felt.

He sighed. "I guess you're right Hana. Well what am I supposed to do with him in the meantime?"

Hana thought for a moment before responding. "Even though I can't _exactly _pinpoint where your jutsu went wrong, I think Shikamaru Nara will revert back to his human form in a few days, maybe weeks' time. So in the meantime, I suppose we have three options." The elder sister of Kiba showed her younger sibling her index finger. "One, we return him back to his family and you take whatever anger or punishment they throw at you." Hana showed him a second finger. "Two, we keep him here and try to figure out how to reverse your idiotic jutsu, and take care of him." A third finger. "Three, we go to Lady Shizune and beg for her help."

Kiba nodded.

"However, if we do choice number one or two, we're going to have to come up with a lie about where your friend disappeared to. This may require me explaining the situation to Tsunade-sama, and requesting her to lie for us. The chances of that are 50/50, so don't get your hopes up. Got it?"

"Yeah." Kiba said, nodding once, eager to atone for his mistake.

"Good, now go buy some more dog food; we don't have any suitable for a puppy. Oh, and take Shikamaru with you." Hana added, as she placed her veterinary equipment and went to leave her bedroom.

"Alright! Hey, Shikamaru! Get your lazy ass up in outta here!" Kiba exclaimed, regaining some of his vigour.

_'Did you have to yell?' _Shikamaru grumbled, opening one eye to look at the young Inuzuka _'What a drag. Even as a dog I have to go out and walk around. How troublesome.'_ With a series of discontent growls, Shikamaru got up on all fours and toddled over to Kiba, who scooped him up in one arm and dashed down the stairs all too fast for Shikamaru.

_'Well,'_ he thought dully as his stomach churned, and Kiba called Akamaru over to the open front door, mounting him. _'At least this saves me the trouble of walking.' _Suddenly, Akamaru jolted forwards, Kiba holding onto Akamaru's mane of fur with one hand, his other arm occupied by a weary and dizzy Shikamaru.

After what seemed like days of terrible dizziness, Shikamaru realised Akamaru had ceased his running, and the three of them had finally arrived in the centre of Konoha. The stores and streets were all buzzing with people as usual. Kiba scanned the crowd for any familiar faces, not exactly _wanting _to attract attention to the little 'puppy' in his arms. The Inuzuka dismounted his dog and raised Shikamaru closer to his face, and began to whisper to him:

"Okay, Shikamaru, I'm going to put you in my jacket-" Kiba began, lifting Shikamaru closer to his partially unzipped jacket.

_'What?' _Shikamaru yelped, and began to thrash, catching Kiba by surprise and knocking him in the eye as he jumped out of his arms, causing Akamaru to frown and whip around, his head knocking Kiba in the stomach, unbalancing him and causing him to trip over his feet and fall on his back, Shikamaru tumbling out of his grip and a few feet away.

"Ugh, god dammit Shikam-" Kiba froze as he rubbed the back of his head, cracking an eye open when he noticed a good handful of the people passing by were giving him odd looks. _Damn, I almost said 'Shikamaru'! If anyone heard that they'd either think I'm gay and named a puppy after Nara, or that I've lost it! _

Shaking his head and standing up to dust himself off, a familiar voice said, "Hey, Inuzuka! You kinda ... _dropped_ your dog." Kiba turned around to see Konohamaru, the grandson of the Third Hokage and who looked much more mature than the last time Kiba had laid eyes on him, was holding Shikamaru awkwardly by the scruff of his neck, Shikamaru looking extremely irritable.

"Oh, hah hah, right, thanks kid." Kiba said, reaching for Shikamaru before he hesitated, gulping as he saw the dirty look the terrier was giving him. _Nara may not be all that frightening as a human when he glares at you, but as a dog ..._ Kiba paused and retracted his hands, making Konohamoru frown.

"What?" the boy frowned, seeing Kiba's change of mind.

"Actually squirt, could you look after my mutt for five minutes tops? I gotta go into some stores real quick but I don't think it'd be ... smart to bring in," Kiba thought for a moment. What should he say Nara's dog name was? Realising he was hesitating too long, Kiba quickly finished his sentence. "_Shika_."

_'Shika?'_ The shadow-nin thought exasperatedly, narrowing his eyes at the brown haired boy. _'That has to be the _worst_ name for a dog ever. And it's so similar to my own name too. Kiba you dunce!'_

""Shika"?" Konohamaru repeated with a frown. "That sounds like Shikamaru Nara's name. Hey, speaking of that lazy-ass, where'd he disappear to? I hear Lady Tsunade is freaking out trying to find him! It's pretty damn funny actually. She's loosin' her head!"

"Why?" Kiba asked, gulping.

_'Crap! It's the Chuunin exams she's getting angry over!' _Shikamaru thought, shaking his head and glaring knives at Kiba. _'When I get back to normal, I'm _doomed._'_

"I dunno. I think it's 'cause of the Chuunin exams. I'm not too sure though, I'm a Genin so I wouldn't really know." Konohamaru shrugged. "But the guy's got it coming to him. I mean, all he does is laze around and sleep and play Shoji. I bet he makes his team mates do all the work for him, and that's why they're the crumbiest team of Konoha 12." Konohamaru added.

An infuriated growl rose up in Shikamaru's throat. _'This brat can insult me, but never my team! I should bite some new holes into him ...' _

Seeing the deathly expression on Shikamaru's face, Kiba wondered if he should leave him here with the Genin. But, he did make him fall in front of the crowd when he was trying to do the dog-boy a favour ... _Oh well, payback's a bitch. _Kiba thought with an inward shrug. Though he did worry for Konohamaru ...

"Really? And no not really, Nara's a great guy. Anyways, I gotta go. I'll be back in a few!" Kiba shouted, already a good distance away as he waved back at the forced babysitter and the dog, Akamaru running after him.

Once Kiba was out of sight, leaving Konohamaru no choice but to look after the mutt, the young Genin walked over to an empty bench beside the Ramen shop, where Uzumaki Naruto could usually be found. Konohamaru sighed at the thought of his role model. It had been nearly three years without his rival causing havoc in the city, and Konohamaru was way over due for a battle with him. Shikamaru huffed as he was set down on the bench (it was more like dropped, and oh Kami did it hurt his little puppy body).

As Konohamaru day dreamed, Shikamaru fixed him with an angry glare, to which the younger boy paid no attention to. People passing by gave them strange looks as the 'Honourable Grandson of The Third Hokage' stare dreamily at the legs of people passing by, completely zoned out, and at the tiny little dog who was no bigger than a kunai, staring hatefully at him.

_'I should rip him a new one right now ... but that'd be too troublesome.' _Shikamaru sighed and was just about to turn away when the Naruto-double snapped out of his trance and glared at him heatedly.

"What do you want?" he snapped, head in his hands as he supported his head.

Shikamaru merely blinked at the boy.

"Stupid dog ... where's Kiba?" Konohamaru grumbled, looking around.

_'It wouldn't hurt to bite him just a little ...'_ Shikamaru thought, tilting his head a little as he watched the boy fidget with his dark green cape. Shikamaru, quickly getting bored of this, yawned and curled up into a ball, deciding to rest his eyes.

"Heh, you're just like that lazy-ass Nara, aren't you, Shika?" Konohamaru asked, tsk-ing.

Shikamaru's eye twitched. He didn't care if the boy insulted him and called him names – hell, he'd been called worse before – but there was just something about him that irked him to the bone.

"Jeez, if I had a ninja like Nara on my team, I'd beg Lady Tsunade to revoke my ninja permit (**A/N: I don't know what to call that really ...**) in a heartbeat."

Shikamaru snapped, whipping around and jumping for the Genin's hand, sinking his tiny, yet sharp little fangs into it, easily and quickly drawing blood.

Konohamaru jumped up from the bench in surprise, and began waving his hand about like crazy, passerby-ers giving a large berth of space to the two.

"Wh-what the hell, Shika?" Konohamaru yelped, trying to get the terrier off. Shikamaru merely tightened his grip on the boy's hand. "Get off!" Finally Konohamaru grabbed Shikamaru by the scruff of his neck and yanked him off, Shikamaru finally letting go.

Konohamaru glared at the mutt and completely forgot he was supposed to be watching him for Kiba. Looking around at the crowd, he spotted a familiar woman with spiky blonde hair in four different ponytails and sharp teal eyes. She gave off a vicious/fierce aura, and Konohamaru recognised her from the time when Naruto was getting beaten up by Sakura, and in Naruto's year's Chuunin Exams. She wore a short-sleeved black kimono that reached down to her legs, with slits along the side and a revealing neckline. Around her waist was a red sash, on her hands black gloves and a black Sand Village forehead protector on her forehead, just like Kiba and Naruto did. The woman's name was Temari, sister to the young Kazekage.

Running over, his hand still freely bleeding, Konohamaru dashed over to her and shoved Shikamaru in her face.

Teal orbs stared, startled, into dark brown ones, both wide-eyed.

_'Troublesome woman?'_ Shikamaru practically yelped in his mind, the only sound escaping his throat a whine.

Temari quickly recovered and scowled, roughly pushing the hand that held the small terrier puppy in her face to the side to reveal a both familiar and unfamiliar kid.

"Do I know you?" Temari asked with a raised eyebrow, her right hand on her hip.

"Kinda. Listen, can you take this mutt away from me?" Konohamaru demanded briskly, shoving it in her face again.

Temari had to admit, it was actually pretty cute. But she didn't voice her thoughts as heavy annoyance bubbled up in her. Once more, (this time _much_ more roughly so that it was more like a punch) Temari knocked the boy's hand out of her face, making him nearly drop the dog.

"Listen _kid,_" Temari snarled, drawing herself up to her full height, successfully intimidating the annoying brat, who cowered a little, but stood his ground. "I don't want a mangy little pooch running around in my apartment while I carry out my stupid duties for the Chuunin Exams here, let alone having one shoved in my face. Now tell me who you are before I lose my patience."

"I-I'm Sarutobi Konohamaru, grandson of the Third Hokage!"

Temari raised an eyebrow. "Oh. You're that little brat that was with Naruto the first time me and my brothers met him, aren't you? You were cowering in a corner with your little friends."

Konohamaru glowered at the older woman. "I'm not a brat!" he shouted, his voice breaking terribly.

Shikamaru's ears perked up. _'Puberty. _That's _why I got irritable whenever he spoke! Whoops, I bit him for no reason then.' _

Temari grunted, her ears ringing from the sound.

"Ugh, do yourself a favor and don't yell, brat. The sound of your voice makes my ears bleed."

"Then take this stupid Shika away from me!" Konohamaru shouted making Shikamaru take all the strength he had _not_ to turn around and bite the living day lights out of his currently vulnerable arm.

Before Temari could even open her mouth, Konohamaru smashed Shikamaru into her chest face first, weakly shouting, "Take it!" before dashing away into the crowd.

Red in the face from both anger and for some unknown reason embarrassment, Temari grabbed the dog before it could fall with both hands, pulling it away from her breasts at arm's length looking it over. It was an extremely small dog, maybe the size of her sandal, with chocolate brown fur, with a beige muzzle, and cute black eyes, not to mention a cute little brown nose.

_It doesn't look that bad ..._ Temari thought, tilting her head at the hassled looking dog.

_'Wh-what just happened? M-my face w-was in-'_ Shikamaru's eyes went to her chest, where the neckline of her kimono showed a modest yet slightly generous amount of her breasts. Shikamaru shut his eyes and tossed his head to the side, ashamed of himself. _'N-no! Don't look there! You're _not _a pervert and that's _Temari_! You both hate each other!'_

"... I guess I could keep you for the meantime." Temari said hesitantly, bringing the dog closer to her chest.

_'No! Not again!' _Shikamaru groaned, struggling in her surprisingly hard but gentle grip.

Thankfully for Shikamaru, Temari brought him up to her face, so that they were eye-level, and he felt her teal eyes seem to burn into his black ones. He stiffened, suddenly aware of _just how close he was_ (even if he was a tiny little terrier) and felt as if she was seeing into his soul. For a moment, he wondered if she could tell that he wasn't Shika the Glen Imaal Terrier but Shikamaru Nara the lazy shadow ninja.

"So you're name's Shika, huh?" she murmured, remembering her conversation with the mid-puberty-staged brat. "You're kind of cute ... in a sense." She quickly covered up, wondering why she felt as if her guard should be up around a _puppy_. Temari adjusted her hold on the small dog, so that her arms were crossed and he was comfortably nestled in them, though he was still conscious of his back being awkwardly close to her chest area. Other than that, his paws were slightly hanging off of her forearm, and his head was nestled into the crook of her arm.

_'This is a lot better than how Kiba carries me.' _Shikamaru allowed himself to think before he dozed off, and Temari set off towards her apartment.

Meanwhile, Kiba had his arms filled with puppy kibble and new dog bowls, when he realised he couldn't see Konohamaru and Shikamaru anywhere in sight.

_Oh no! _He thought, and almost dropped the supplies before he dashed around the area, the Genin and the dog nowhere to be found.

"Shit!" he growled, before mounting Akamaru and sprinting back to the Inuzuka residence. What in the world was he to do now?

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><p><strong>This chapter is twice as long as the first, I hope you enjoyed it! Were the characters OOC? And for future reference, I'm going to ask that question a lot, as I tend to hate stories when the characters are OOC, so obviously I don't want mine to be.<strong>

**R&R? Flames, positive remarks, spelling mistakes being pointed out, anything is accepted!**

**Oh, and updates probably won't be regular as you would know if you read my other two ongoing stories. Sometimes I just have 0% of inspirtation, and a hard case of writers block. And the fact that I'm rather similair to Shikamaru says a lot too.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Well I'm back! Sorry for the delay, I got NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: ULTIMATE NINJA STORM 2 video game last week, and I'm completely addicted ^_^ I beat it in four days and I'm online a lot. If you play, add me! I'll put my PSN ID at the bottom. Oh, and as a forewarning, online I'm not too too good, and I tend to use the same characters a lot (the characters that I'm most alike to personality-wise I tend to use) and on Ranked Matches my level of skill depletes terribly ;_; Player Match, I'm good at. So I'm stuck as a Beginner in Rank with like 80BP ;(**

**Anyways, this is the longest chap so far, eleven pages I think? on Microsoft Word. Uhh there are a lot of time skips, and it's easy to tell who's POV the story is at by the header I have. **o-O-o-_-o-O-o **The underscore in the middle is basically where the first letter of whoever's POV it is' name. So for Temari it'd be **o-O-o-T-o-O-o **and so on, so forth. OH YAH, and because I usually suck at First Person POV, this is in Third Person Limited.**

**And in case anyone gets startled by the swearing that will inevitabley appear in this fan fic, I will say it now; THIS IS RATED _T _FOR LANGUAGE, POSSIBLE NUDITY, OCCASIONAL FANSERVICE, ECT. So leave now in case that disturbs you _ Also, thank you all for the reviews(: 16 for only two chapters is startling ._. But realy quite pleasing :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and it's characters blah blah blah. If I did the series would've been abandoned halfway due to lack of amazing imagination o.o**

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><p><strong>Dog Days<br>Chapter 3**

Temari's apartment was big, and _not _just because Shikamaru was a hand-sized puppy. Her Room, (Room 106), had a narrow hallway, with dark hardwood floor and a red carpet lining the middle of it. The blonde kicked off her sandals so that she was barefoot, and looked down at the small pup in her arms, which was lazily looking around the hallway.

Beside them, Shikamaru noted, was a closet, which Temari opened and kicked her shoes inside before proceeding into the hallway. There were three different thresholds; two were doorless and one wasn't. Shikamaru assumed the room with the door was the bathroom, which was at the very end of the hallway, on the right. Temari walked past the first threshold with no door. Shikamaru quickly tried to peer in and saw an old medium-sized television, a brown couch, and a coffee table as Temari walked by it. Within seconds, they had reached the second threshold which Shikamaru saw to be a kitchen. It had white marble tiles and beige painted walls. The kitchen was moderate in size, and had a medium sized tinted-black-glass-table that could fit maybe two or three people around it. There were some wooden cupboards above a granite countertop with a silver toaster and microwave. In the corner was a dishwasher and an oven, on the opposite side nearest to the glass table, a small mini fridge beneath the counter beside a trash can. The kitchen had a strong smell that hurt Shikamaru's nose, and he whimpered before he could hold it back. Temari heard it and gently put the terrier down, putting her hands on her hips, eye brow raised as he stumbled and fell on his side.

Temari snorted, making Shikamaru turn around and glare up at her.

'_I'm still not used to the whole four-legs thing. Gimme a break woman.' _He grumbled in his mind, giving her a glare.

Temari raised both eyebrows at this. "Are you _glaring_ at _me_?" she asked, slightly scandalized.

Feeling smug, Shikamaru nodded his small little head.

Temari smirked a little, her teeth showing slightly. It was a fierce expression, but Shikamaru felt a strange feeling in his gut as he looked at her. "Good. I like any living creature with a little spunk in them. And you seem pretty bright too. You understand what I'm saying right?"

Shikamaru nodded again, blinking a few times at the blonde ninja. _'I'm tired. I think this is the longest I've ever been awake for during anything non-mission related.'_

"Huh, you _do_ understand me. Smart pooch." Temari bent down to ruffle the shaggy fur on his head. "I wonder if you're just a stray or someone else's dog." She thought out loud, pulling her hand away from the dog and standing up straight as she thought back to when the puberty punk forced her to take care of Shika. "Are ya?" she added, looking down at the little dog to find him sleeping.

The sand-nin raised her eyebrows.

"Kami, you remind me of that lazy-ass Nara."

A thought came to her.

She hadn't seen Nara in a couple of months, and they _were_ supposed to be planning out the Chuunin Exams together too.

_Maybe I should stop by for a visit. It'd piss the hell out of him, too I bet._ Temari grinned impishly. She needed to go out and buy some food to fill up the mini-fridge anyways, not to mention some dog food now that she had a furry little guest living with her. She walked into the gray carpeted living room and walked into the next room, which happened to be her bedroom where she had dumped everything she had brought from Suna with her. It was a small room, with gray carpet like the room before it. Its walls were plastered with happy wallpaper which in Temari's opinion was just downright stupid and unpleasant to look at. The wallpaper was dull yellow with bright yellow and orange ducks and stars all over it. Did the receptionist at the desk want to piss her off or something? Because Temari thought she really didn't seem like a woman who liked 'happy' bright ducks all over the walls of her bedroom to stare at her while she slept. There was a large mahogany dresser against the wall beside a small closet which was ajar; empty hangers and cobwebs were all that welcomed the blonde woman.

Temari sighed and turned to her four poster bed where she had earlier dumped her two duffle bags and her beloved large iron fan. The fan was at least five feet tall, and seven feet long (**A/N: I'm guessing on this, b/c on Google I can't find any answers referring to how large her fan is**) with three purple moons painted on it. On was off to the side on the left, another on the right, and one in the middle. The butt of it was black and sleek. Upon examining it, Temari found it needed polishing. _Gotta do that later._ She noted mentally in her head before picking it up and slinging it onto her back.

Satisfied, the sand kunoichi exited the room, and left the apartment, Shikamaru still soundly sleeping in the kitchen.

**o-O-o-K-o-O-o**

"Hana!" Kiba shouted urgently as he burst through the door.

"I'm in the backyard!" she shouted back, probably tending to the ninken triplets.

A moment later, Kiba practically flew through the back door, startling his older sister. As a result, a metal dog bowl was sent flying, its contents splashing all over an irritated Akamaru.

"Kiba, what the he-" Hana began, as she walked over to Akamaru and rubbed his skull in apology, pulling a towel out of nowhere and drying him off.

"I lost Shikamaru!" he exclaimed, cutting her off.

Hana stopped drying off Akamaru. "What?" she demanded, standing up. "Kiba, you were supposed to be _looking after _Shikamaru! How in the name of Kami did you lose him?"

Kiba winced and scratched the back of his neck. "Well, he made a fool of me in public, and he was mad at me too, and Konohamaru happened to be near by ... so I asked him to look after Shikamaru for a little bit while I went to go get the dog food."

"_And_?" Hana prompted.

"Er, well, when I finished getting the stuff I came back outside to grab him and he was just ... gone!" Kiba continued defensively.

"Well what about Konohamaru?"

"Eh ... I couldn't find him either ... so I came home to tell you."

Hana closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose before sighing and dropping her hand.

"I guess we have no other choice then. You're going to go explain to the Naras what happened, and I'll go see Lady Tsunade."

Kiba grimaced.

"And let me tell you," Hana added, a grimace on her face too. "Yoshino Nara will _not_ take this lightly. And that woman is _scary._"

The younger Inuzuka shivered and mentally cursed his bad luck. _I'm screwed._ Was all he thought as he trudged after his sister to meet his doom.

**o-O-o-T-o-O-o**

The sand kunoichi was half way to Shikamaru's house when she heard her name being called.

"Hey! Temari!"

Temari turned around to see Haruno Sakura running towards her, flanked by Yamanaka Ino, both waving at her.

"Oh, hi there, Sakura. Ino." Temari said half-heartedly. She liked the two girls, yes, but they were just too girly and boy-crazy for the tomboy kunoichi.

"Why are you in Konoha?" Ino asked curiously once she and Sakura arrived in front of Temari.

"I was ordered to come and help with the Chuunin Exams." Temari replied with a shrug. "A waste of time if you ask me, but I don't get a say in anything of course."

"Ah, I see. So where are you headed? I thought your apartment you always stay in was down that way?" Sakura frowned, gesturing with her hand in the direction Temari had come from.

"To visit that lazy-ass Nara. He's apparently my escort around here, and we have to work on the Exams together."

Ino and Sakura looked at each other with smug expressions.

"What?" Temari asked defensively, feeling oddly unnerved by their expressions.

"Is that _all_?" Ino prodded in a suggestive tone, putting a hand on her hip.

Catching on quickly, Temari glared at the two girls. "Yeah it is. Now if you'll excuse me ..."

The sandy haired woman stalked off, feeling her face heat up a little as the younger kunoichi disappeared. She thought about what they said. Were the exams the only reason she was heading to Shikamaru's house? _Yes! Of course it is._ She yelled at herself in her thoughts. But she felt a strange sense of doubt in her mind.

As she thought this over, she found herself glaring harshly around her, people passing by her giving her frightened looks before scurrying away.

**o-O-o-H-o-O-o**

Hana arrived at the Hokage tower much faster than she had desired. She had left Kiba to face the Naras by himself, and had taken off to where Lady Tsunade was usually found either drunk, or irritable and sober. On the way to the tower, the older Inuzuka sibling had failed to come up with an explanation of Kiba's failed jutsu and Shikamaru's predicament.

Suddenly Hana found herself outside the door of the Fifth's office. She blinked in surprise and then raised her fist to knock on the large red doors.

_Knock, knock, knock._

"Who is it?" demanded the Hokage.

"Inuzuka Hana of the fifth division, milady." Hana responded with confidence.

"Come in."

Hana pushed open the tall doors to see Tsunade sitting at her desk, feet on the table, drinking some sake.

"Lady Tsunade, I have something to request from you." Hana said nervously once she was standing in front of her desk.

Tsunade raised her thin eyebrow. "A request?" she repeated sounding almost scandalized.

"Er, yes milady. You see, my little brother Kiba was testing out his new jutsu with Nara Shikamaru and-"

"Let me guess," Tsunade interrupted, getting to her feet and stumbling a little. "Kiba injured himself or Shikamaru and you need me to tend to them." Tsunade sighed. "Alright, lets go."

"Actually, no, Tsunade-sama." Hana quickly said before Tsunade could take a step.

"No?"

"Yes milady. You didn't let me finish." Hana took a deep breath. "Kiba's jutsu was supposed to be one of those pointless jutsus, like Uzumaki Naruto's sexy no jutsu."

"What was this jutsu supposed to do?" Tsunade asked, becoming a little more sober.

"Turn him into a dog."

Tsunade snorted loudly.

"But it backfired and well, turned _Nara Shikamaru _into a dog."

Tsunade snorted again. "So? Can't your brother reverse it?"

"No," Hana replied a little stronger than she meant to. "He can't. So Shikamaru's stuck as a small terrier, and earlier today Kiba lost him ..."

Tsunade rolled her eyes and plopped back down into her chair. "Well I don't see where I come in for this, seeing as how you two irresponsibly _lost _the mutt."

Hana growled inwardly. This was getting annoying. Nothing was getting through to the drunkard's mind. "No, you don't understand milady," Hana said a little desperately and angrily. "Shikamaru is the core of the Chuunin Exams at this moment, and he can't help if he's disappeared _and _a dog. Plus we don't have any other available ninja to take his place currently. Also, people are going to wonder where he disappeared to, which is where you come in."

"So you want me to make a lie about his whereabouts."

"Correct."

Tsunade sighed and buried her face in her hands, elbows propped up on her desk. Removing her hands, she replaced them under her chin and folded them, looking up at the brunette.

"Alright. How about I spread the word out that Shikamaru is now M.I.A from a secret mission he went on alone last night. Only Kiba and his family have most likely seen him this morning, correct?"

Hana nodded.

"Good. In the meantime, you better explain what happened to the Naras and then try to find Shikamaru."

"I sent Kiba to deal with the Naras." Hana replied with an impish smile.

The blonde chuckled. "Good idea, Yoshino is quite scary, isn't she?"

Hana grinned and laughed a little. "Yes she is actually."

Tsunade smiled a little before gesturing for Hana to go and taking a large swig of sake and sighing.

**o-O-o-K-o-O-o**

"Oh man, Akamaru!" Kiba moaned as he and his companion walked slowly towards the Nara residence.

The big white dog looked at Kiba, giving him a 'you deserve this' look.

"Ugh, his dad may not care that much, but his _mom!_" Kiba shivered. "I think I should've written down a Final Will and Testament before I left."

Akamaru made a snorting noise and nodded as the two continued to walk to their doom.

**o-O-o-T-o-O-o**

Temari finally arrived at the Nara residence. It was a small house with a black shingled roof and red brick walls. There were two windows in the front, and a chocolate brown door. The sandy blonde knocked curtly on thrice.

The door was opened to reveal a woman with a strict expression and thin black eyebrows. She was a tiny bit taller than Temari, maybe by a few centimetres, and wore a rose coloured t-shirt with a pale yellow apron overtop, with a long brown skirt that fell to her mid-shins.

"Oh, Temari dear!" she exclaimed, her expression softening. "Come in, come in!"

Temari held back the urge to roll her eyes. Yoshino Nara was hell bent on believing that her and that lazy, good for nothing shinobi were meant for each other. However, Temari never resisted, as she knew Yoshino would have a fit afterwards.

"Hello, Mrs. Nara," Temari said gruffly, trying her best to sound polite as she bowed.

"What brings you all the way over here?" she asked, closing the door and folding her hands together.

"I just wanted to see your son for a few moments and remind him that we begin working on the Chuunin Exams tomorrow." Temari replied, very business-like.

"Oh, is that all?" Yoshino frowned, her tone _very _noticeably less interested. Her face resumed its old strict expression, making Temari grind her teeth.

"Yes."

"Well I have no clue as to where that boy went off to, try again later." Yoshino shrugged, walking into the kitchen, all interest lost in Temari, similar to a cat and an old play toy.

"Temari, I think Shikamaru was last at the training field." Shikamaru's father, Shikaku Nara told her in a quiet rough voice, clearly trying to avoid his wife's attention. It was very obvious that Shikamaru got his looks from Shikaku, who even had his hair up in the same style as his son. There were two large scars on the right side of his face, on just beside his eye, the other extending from his jaw line almost to the bridge of his nose. He wore the jounin flak jacket (except his is darker), a meshed shirt, with a deer skin coat over top and hand guards. He also had a goatee. Shikaku was sitting in the living room which was right beside Temari as he read his newspaper in a dark green chair.

Temari nodded, a slight smile on her face. "Alright. Thank you, Mr. Nara."

Shikaku nodded in response, and went back to reading his newspaper, legs crossed. With that, Temari exited the Nara home and proceeded to the training grounds.

**o-O-o-K-o-O-o**

Kiba had finally reached the Nara estate, when he saw a familiar kunoichi with four spiky ponytails and a black kimono with a red sash around her waist. It seemed she had just left Shikamaru's household, and was walking in the opposite direction.

The brunette swallowed and looked to Akamaru, who whimpered nervously in response.

"Ready, boy?" Kiba asked warily.

Akamaru just whined some more.

"Oh well, we gotta do this." Kiba walked up to the chocolate brown door and knocked a bit too harshly, making the door creak. He flinched as he heard angry yelling from inside, and instantly recognised it to be Shikamaru's mother. _Crap._

The door opened to reveal a weary-looking Shikaku Nara, who regarded Kiba with irritation. "Were you planning on knocking our door down?" he asked with a raised brow.

"Eh? Oh, oh! Sorry sir!" Kiba quickly apologised, bowing deeply.

Shikaku sighed. "It's okay, kid. Now why are you here in the first place?"

Kiba fidgeted slightly before quickly saying, "Isyourwifearound?"

"Yoshino? In the kitchen, why?" Shikaku narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Uh, it's about your son ..."

Shikaku stared at the young Inuzuka for a second, when suddenly his jaw dropped to the ground.

"Oh lord, is Shikamaru _gay_?" Shikaku gasped a little louder than he intended.

A crash of plates was heard from the kitchen, the sound of shattering plates echoing through the house as Yoshino stormed over, glaring knives at the terrified Kiba and Akamaru.

"My son is _**gay**_?" Yoshino raged, practically spitting out the words. Kiba yelped as he saw fire ignite in her eyes, making Akamaru hide behind his master.

"Wh-what? No! No I-" Kiba stammered, eyes wide, shaking his head vigorously.

Yoshino's eyes turned to slits as she shoved her way past Shikaku. "You're his _boyfriend aren't you?_" Shikamaru's mom nearly screeched.

Akamaru whimpered and ran away, leaving Kiba alone. _Damn you Akamaru!_ Kiba cursed in his head as he flinched from the woman.

"No! Listen to me! Your son is a _dog!_" Kiba shouted back at them, desperate for them to listen. From the side walk, a small group of gawking villagers had gathered, anyone who passed either ran or watched with a confused look on their face.

"_YOU TOOK HIM FROM BEHIND?_" Yoshino positively shrieked her expression lethal.

Kiba felt like killing himself right there.

Shikaku's eyes widened to the size of saucers.

For a while, the only sound was Yoshino's laboured breathing as she continued to seethe at the Inuzuka.

"I. Turned. Your. Son. Into. A. Terrier. Dog." Kiba forced himself to say behind clenched teeth, his face tomato red.

"So you _did_?" Yoshino gasped.

"No, Yoshino!" Shikaku growled after a moment.

_Finally, at least he listened! _Kiba thought exasperatedly.

"What do you mean, kid?" Shikaku asked, frowning as he crossed his arms.

"Er, well, I made this jutsu that I wanted to show Shikamaru and it backfired ..." Kiba said, leaning away from Yoshino.

"Where is he now?" the mother asked.

"That's the thing ... he, er, I, I lost him." Kiba said finally, hanging his head dejectedly.

If Yoshino's expression had looked deathly before, now she was absolutely lethal.

Shikaku sighed and shook his head. "Troublesome." Was all he said, and turned and walked back into the house.

Kiba timidly backed away from the bloodthirsty woman, before she grabbed his arm in a death grip, suddenly bitter sweet.

"Well then, Kiba, was it? You better find my son," Yoshino said sweetly, smiling widely as she batted her eyelashes. "And return him to normal _very _soon. Alright, _sweetie_?"

Kiba swallowed and dashed away the moment Yoshino released her grip on his arm, who watched him leave with narrowed eyes.

Once he reached the sidewalk, the audience the two Naras and one Inuzuka had had was dispersing quickly, showing where Akamaru was laying, head in his paws as he watched the Kiba approach him with an angry expression.

"Hey, why'd you leave me there?" Kiba demanded once they were out of ear shot.

Akamaru made a laughing noise and looked at Kiba lazily as they continued to walk back to the Inuzuka home.

Kiba sighed and put his arms behind his head. "Damn Shikamaru's mom _is _as scary as he always says. Hm, I wonder how sis did with the Hokage."

**o-O-o-T-o-O-o**

The sand kunoichi finally arrived at the training field, and looked around with a hand on her hip.

It was deserted.

Temari cursed under her breath. She had come all this way to work on the stupid Chuunin Exams against her will, forced to work with a lazy-ass ninja that always quarrelled with her, and now she was stuck looking for her 'escort' who seemed to have disappeared.

With a huff, the sandy blonde turned on her heel and stalked back to her apartment when she passed some little Genin brats.

"Why are the Chuunin Exams being post-phoned?" one girl with auburn hair and red swirls on her cheeks frowned.

"'Cause apparently some stupid shinobi that was pretty much piloting the entire exam went missing." A boy with an obnoxious voice said in an irritated voice.

Temari paused, stopping in her tracks at this.

"Where'd he go?" asked another boy with spiky brown hair and big blue eyes asked, curious.

The boy with the obnoxious voice shrugged. "Apparently he's M.I.A after going on a secret mission or some shit. Stupid prick had to go and get lost, and now we can't become Chuunin for at least a few weeks!" he fumed.

Temari's brow furrowed, and she immediately turned on her heel and walked over, standing behind the obnoxious boy who wore a bright red cape, and had wild spiky hair. There were red triangles on his face, telling the sand kunoichi he was of the Inuzuka clan. The other two children looked at her and flinched. _Good, intimidations working then._ Temari thought smugly as she glared down at the Inuzuka kid.

Slowly the brat turned around and looked up at her, his eyes widening as he saw the nineteen year old sandy blonde glaring intimidating at him. He quickly brushed it off and turned around fully to look at her boredly, eye brows raised slightly.

"What." He asked in a bored tone that made Temari want to beat him right then and there.

"That shinobi you said went missing. What's his name?" Temari demanded as she glared down at the young Genin.

The Inuzuka shrugged, clearly thinking he was much better than some kunoichi who was older than he and _much _more skilled.

"Why should I tell you?"

"Damien … you should tell her …." The female Genin whispered, looking fearful.

_Damien, eh? _Temari thought, regarding the young boy.

"Because, _Inuzuka Damien_," Temari drawled, reaching for her large fan on her back. "If you don't, I don't see a reason as to why I can't throw you around a little."

Damien's eyes widened for a second, before narrowing smugly. "Yeah right, like you can get away with that. The fifth will kill you for it."

Temari shrugged. "Well, I'm not from this village, and my little brother _is _the youngest Kazekage in all of Suna's history, so I don't think I should be too afraid of Tsunade-sama."

The boy with the spiky brown hair spoke up. "Uh, I-I'm outta here. See you guys later!" he exclaimed as he fled.

The auburn haired girl followed suit, leaving without a word.

"Hey! Where you guys goin'? Scaredy-cats!" Damien shouted over his shoulder and got to his feet, raising his fists to Temari. "You stupid bitch! Fight me if you think you're so tough!"

Temari raised her eyebrows. "Big words for a little brat."

Damien growled. "Grrrrrr, c'mon! Fight me!"

"Alright. I'll even go without my fan. But how bout we sweeten the deal since you think you're so tough." Temari smirked, placing her fan back on her back.

"Fine!"

"If I win, you tell me everything I want. If you win …"

"If I win you become my personal servant and tell _everyone _we're dating. That means you have to do everything I tell you to!" Damien's eyes glinted as he looked Temari up and down.

Temari made a face. She knew she wouldn't lose but even the thought of having to follow the little brat around made her want to puke …

"Deal." She said boredly, placing her hands on her hips.

"Good. START!" the boy dashed forwards with surprising speed for a brat and aimed a punch at Temari's stomach.

The sand kunoichi waited for the last second before leaping over the boy as he fell over, having put too much force behind his punch and loss of balance.

And then the match was over as Temari quickly held him down, and put him in a hammerlock.

"I win." Temari said smugly, forcing his arm down just a bit harder to prove her point.

Damien grunted and gave in. "Okay, fine! Just get off of me!"

Reluctantly, the sandy blonde kunoichi got off of the Genin, crossing her arms as she waited impatiently for him to get up.

He stared at her with dislike and awe, before coughing and saying, "I'm pretty sure the dobe's name is Nara."

Temari's eyes narrowed. "So that lazy-ass got himself abducted or something, is that it?"

Damien nodded. "You know him?"

Temari snorted and turned away. "Unfortunately. Thanks for your time, kid." She called as she walked away, arms still crossed.

Damien watched the sand-nin walk away, his eyes roaming her figure.

"Hot stuff right there." He grinned, remembering how it felt when she pinned him down. "I'll remember you …" he muttered as he walked in the opposite direction to go find the auburn haired girl and the spiky haired boy and boast about his victory.

They'd never know if he lost or not …

* * *

><p><strong>Personally, I don't really like Kiba and Hana's POV skips, because at the time when I wrote them, I didn't really know how to percieve them and their conversations, so if they seem OOC along with Shikaku, Yoshino, and Tsunade, gomenesai to you all n_n; And if Temari's OOC then DAMMIT Must work on her if she is.<strong>

**Uh, I tried to bold the **o-O-o_o-O-o **wherever they occured so that they'd be easier to see. If i missed any, gomenesai again :O**

**R&R please and thank you! Anything accepted!**

**Playstation Network ID = **sammytoes98 (It's a nickname my closest friend shoved on me to annoy me when I first met her -.- we hated each other)


	4. Chapter 4

**Hiya, sorry I haven't updated in maybe .. a week and a half? I've been meaning to update, but my cousin invited me to a concert a week ago, and afterwards me and my brother stayed at his house for about five days, and tomorrow I'm going to another concert with him and two other people, and then I'll probably repeat the last week again ... anyways, since I was in a rush to update, here's seven pages of filler! And ik the end of the chapter is cliché and rushed, sorry about that x.x**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of Naruto blah blah blah .. this is the last time I say disclaimer for this story -.- Four is enough**

**Warnings: My attempt to describe Shikamaru seeing Temari ..., and the usual warnings, though I dont think I included any swearing in this chap**

* * *

><p><strong>Dog Days<br>Chapter 3**

The small dark brown terrier yawned widely, revealing its tiny little teeth in the process. Shikamaru grunted as he stretched his front legs, then his back legs, getting to his feet.

_'Still a dog.' _He grumbled in his mind with a huff as he saw the colossal table and cushions beside him, towering over him like mountains. The dog-boy sneezed, shaking his head afterwards, his slightly floppy ears flapping all the while.

Shikamaru wondered where Temari was, and instinctively sniffed the air. He smelt the smell of bleach on the floors and counters, air freshener, but Temari's scent seemed to be absent.

_'Wait, what?' _Shikamaru frowned, cocking his head to the side. _'How the hell do I know that troublesome woman's _scent_?' _Beneath his soft shaggy fur, Shikamaru blushed deeply, feeling slightly perverted.

The terrier shook his tiny little head vigorously, trying to get the thoughts out of his brain. Shikamaru huffed, plopping down on his furry behind, staring down at the floor with an unfocused expression. He was beginning to get thirsty, and increasingly hungry. _'I wonder if there's any food in here ...'_ Shikamaru wondered, as he got to his paws again, and toddled over to the mini fridge, and raised a tiny paw to scratch at it. The door was firmly sealed shut, and hurt Shikamaru's small ears as his claws scratched against the steal, the feeling sending shivers all over his body. The shadow-nin retracted his paw quickly, whimpering slightly as he tried to shake the feeling out of his body.

Shikamaru eyed the mini fridge with an irked expression, giving a loud huff before giving up and lying on the ground. Without hands, the boy-dog hadn't a chance of opening the mini-fridge. He sighed heavily. He was going to have to wait for Temari to return.

**o-O-o-K-o-O-o**

On the way home, Kiba spotted his older sister. She was a little ways in front of him, and evidentially had just come out of a food booth, one she visited frequently; they served meatballs, Hana's favourite food. Manoeuvring their way through the crowd, Kiba and Akamaru forced their way to his sister (getting many glares and grumbles directed towards them in the process).

"Sis! Sis!" Kiba called loudly, making Hana turn around, a slight frown on her face.

"Kiba? You're alive?" she teased once he caught up to her.

"Tch, like anything could take this beast down!" Kiba exclaimed, striking a pose for his sister, who laughed and rolled her eyes before pushing his shoulder gently.

"So you _did_ tell the Naras, _right?_" Hana asked sternly, though she still held a light smile on her lips.

Kiba nodded vigorously. "Akamaru chickened out, I didn't." He shot a pointed glare at the big dog, which appeared to be 'watching' people pass by.

_I don't blame him_. The two Inuzukas thought with raised brows as they regarded the combat dog.

"How'd it go?" Hana prompted as the three began to walk towards their home again.

Kiba hesitated, pondering how he should explain the unexpected turn of events in the supposed-to-be-simple-apology. "... At first it went okay, I guess," the younger sibling said after a minute, a slight frown on his face as he looked at the ground distantly. "And then Shikamaru's dad misinterpreted what I was going to say ..."

"And?"

"Well he thought I was going to tell him that me and Shikamaru were dating so that Shikamaru wouldn't have to, and then Shikamaru's mom came to the door and made it worse ..." Kiba shivered at the memory of Yoshino Nara screeching at him. "But in the end I straightened it out and told them about the jutsu."

"What'd they say about that?"

"His dad kinda just said, 'troublesome', and then walked back into the house. Yoshino on the other hand ..."

Hana laughed as she saw her brother falter. "She threatened you, didn't she?"

Kiba shivered and nodded, looking at his sister sheepishly. "And it wasn't even a death threat ... well, it wasn't a _flat out _death threat like the ones mom gives me when I don't wake up, but it was ..."

"Overly-sweet?" Hana supplied with a smirk.

"Y-yeah. How'd you know?" Kiba asked, frowning.

"When I was younger and you and Shikamaru were babies, I was practicing nin-jutsu with the triplets near the Nara's house. The exercise was basically like fetch, I suppose. So I threw the practice kunai for one of them to catch, but they started fighting over it and I put too much force into the throw ..." Hana paused her attention on the ground. She looked at Kiba again and grinned impishly. "Much less to say, I broke the window to Yoshino's kitchen, and from there the kunai shattered a ton of her plates."

Kiba's face broke out into a grin. "Wow, you were as clumsy as I am now!"

Hana chuckled. "More or less, yeah."

The siblings walked in silence for a while, Hana breaking the silence.

"So have you tried tracking Shikamaru?" she asked curiously, looking serious again.

Kiba frowned. "Huh?"

Hana stopped in her tracks, her expression matching Yoshino's mildly angered one. "You didn't even _track _Shikamaru? You didn't even bother to _sniff him out_?"

Kiba blanched. _Shit, shit, shit! I completely forgot about trying to track his scent! _

"Er ..."

"Kiba!" Hana exclaimed exasperatedly, plopping down onto the grass.

The siblings were now on the dirt path that lead to their home, meaning they were maybe two to four minutes away from home. The sun was setting, the sky painted a sweet orange, and the many trees Konoha had to offer slightly blocking the sun from sight. Hana's form cast a long shadow onto the ground, Kiba's and Akamaru's appeared to be attached, creating a strange demon-like silhouette.

Kiba gave his sister a weak attempt at a sheepish smile. "I, er, kinda forgot?"

"Ugh ..." Hana grunted, lying down on her back, her eyes closed as she rubbed her temples.

"I would've remembered if I had lost a _human-_" Kiba began defensively, rubbing the back of his neck wearily.

"Kiba Inuzuka, the day you _lose _a human being better be due to getting dumped by your boyfriend. If it isn't I just might strangle you to death. Maybe lose _you _in the middle of the ocean, with only a tattered, rusty kunai in your possession." Hana growled her eyes remaining closed as her hands dropped from her temples.

Kiba made a face. "Why does everyone assume I like boys?" he muttered, looking at Akamaru, who raised one big shoulder in response, shrugging. "I don't even think his scent is the same anymore!" he added, in a louder tone so that Hana could hear.

Hana opened her eyes and sat up again, looking rather stressed. "Then you better start behaving like an actual shinobi and find something to help you with your situation. Kiba, I even got a drunken _Lady Tsunade_ to make up a lie about Shikamaru's whereabouts and help us out! Do you _know _how many have tried and failed?" Hana said the last two sentences in a softer tone, though the rough edge remained.

Kiba looked down at the ground guiltily, kicking the ground absently, puffs of dirt rising at the contact.

Hana shook her head and got to her feet, ruffling Kiba's hair comfortingly. "Don't worry, little brother, you'll find him soon, I believe in you. Okay?" Hana sighed, smiling comfortingly.

Kiba looked up at his sister fondly. "Heh heh, thanks, sis."

Hana nodded, removing her hand from his head and continued walking towards their home.

"No problem, but m y kindness and helpfulness comes at a price!" Hana grinned, as she broke into an extremely fast sprint. "You do the chores for a moooonnnttthhhh!" she called over her shoulder, dust clouds marking her sneaky path.

Kiba scowled and ran after his sister as fast as he could. "Haaaannnnaaaa!" he roared, not bothering to mount Akamaru for fear of wasting precious seconds.

**o-O-o-T-o-O**

Luckily, before Temari had gotten too close to her apartment, she had remembered she had to pick up the groceries, and had quickly gone off to the grocery store.

When she exited the simple market store, she noticed the sun was beginning to set. Her thin brows furrowed slightly, taking in the sight. Though there were most likely the same amount of shops in Suna as there were Konoha, they weren't bland and boring, but bright and colourful. The swirl of colours that surrounded her added with the millions of trees that lined the village and expanded on for miles (yes, they are visible from basically the center of the village), the nice climate, _and_ the sunset, Temari felt as if she was in some sort of paradise. Sure she had been to Konohagukre countless times before due to her duties as the ambassador to the Kazekage, but the scenery never failed to relax/surprise her each visit.

The sand kunoichi sighed peacefully, before shaking her head and proceeding to her apartment at the inn the Hokage had provided her with. She had bought lots of packets of tofu soup (her favourite food), a large pack of water bottles, some root beer and coca cola, a bag of apples, dog kibble, an assortment of vegetables the sandy blonde had chosen at random, and a medium-sized bag of dog kibble. The fan wielding ninja carried the healthy foods in one paper bag, and the rest in a separate one. She carried the dog kibble under her arm, pressing it into her side annoying hard so that it wouldn't fall, and held the two other paper bags against her chest. It was probably a peculiar sight, considering it _was _Temari no Sabaku.

She reached her destination in a matter of minutes, giving the receptionist who she hated a death glare as she entered. One that was easily exchanged, though it was easy to see that Temari's was more frightening. The kunoichi marched up the stairs to her room on the fourth floor, fumbling in her pocket for her room key with difficulty, and ended up putting down the dog kibble so that she could shove the key in the whole (**I'm not the only one who found that dirty, right?**) and turned it inside the lock.

Click!

Satisfied, Temari opened the door, kicking the kibble inside with her foot, too lazy to pick it up again as she yanked the key out of the lock and pocketed it. Once inside, Temari turned and shut the door, locking and bolting it (as a ninja you knew you're never really safe) for precaution. She didn't trust the receptionist at all, and as long as the door was bolted, she definitely couldn't break in and do something to the sandy blonde, less she broke the chain that bolted the door. But that would wake up Temari in a heartbeat.

The sand kunoichi turned from the door, kicking off her sandals so that she was barefoot. She looked up to see a tiny, scruffy, chocolate brown-furred head poking out from the kitchen. Shika's head was tilted to the side, his beady black/brown eyes regarding her expectantly. However, the bored expression that she had always seen on the dog remained there.

"I got you food." She told the dog, picking up her groceries again, once more kicking the kibble-filled bag over to the kitchen.

Now Shika's whole body was in view his tiny little tail was wagging rapidly. A little whine escaped his throat, almost reluctantly.

Temari raised an eyebrow at the dog, keeping her eyes on him as he followed her to the counter. She dumped the bagged groceries on the counter, then walked over to the cupboards, and opened it. There were a good number of plates, saucers, bowls, and glasses inside. Looking satisfied, Temari pulled out two deep round ceramic bowls, filling one with water and setting it on the floor. Shika eagerly darted over and began lapping up its contents as Temari dragged the kibble further into the kitchen, reaching into her pocket and pulled out a kunai, directly after ripping the bag's corner open with it. She tilted the large bag so that tiny little pieces of kibble poured out into the bowl.

When the bowl was halfway filled, Temari pulled the bag away and walked over to Shika, setting the now full bowl down beside him. Instantly the puppy dove into the kibble, pieces of it flying in different directions. The sandy blonde made a face, before shaking her head and storing the kibble in a corner.

"You eat worse than Kankuro after a long mission." Temari murmured, looking at the terrier with a raised eye brow, just as she heard a tapping at the window. She turned to see a small messenger pigeon resting on her window sill, a scrap of paper tied to its ankle.

The kunoichi approached the window and swiftly opened it, the bird squawking in surprise. Never have been one to like birds who made noise (so basically all birds) Temari reached for the thin string, tugging it and taking the scrap of paper before it could be blown away. Quickly swatting at the bird to make it fly away, Temari closed the window, leaning against the wall as she unrolled the small piece of white paper.

_'To __CHUUNIN EXAM SUPERVISOR NUMBER TWO_

_Due to the disappearance of __CHUUNIN EXAM SUPERVISOR ONE__, the Chuunin Exams have been post-phoned until further notice. We apologise for the inconvenience, and we request your help in the mean time._

Beneath the small lettering, was a long list of duties for certain helpers of the exam. Turning the paper around, Temari found her job at the bottom.

_'__CHUUNIN EXAM SUPERVISOR NUMBER TWO__ - You must stay in Konohagukre until the Chuunin Exams are officially over. Orders from the Hokage and Kazekage._'

Temari growled lowly and crumpled up the paper in her hand, tossing it on the floor. Though she liked Konoha, she much preferred to return home until that lazy-ass 'genius' reappeared. And what type of 'genius' gets themselves lost or captured on a mission, anyways? Pushing herself off of the wall, Temari walked past Shika and into the hall, removing her fan from her back as she did so.

**o-O-o-S-o-O-o**

Shikamaru quickly gulped down the revolting food in minutes, his mind screaming at his body to stop as he gobbled down each and every crumb in the bowl. Angry with himself, the nasty taste still in his mouth after he drank half of his water bowl empty, the shadow-nin realised the troublesome woman had disappeared.

Like earlier, he sniffed the air instinctively, finding her scent in a moment, making him blush heavily beneath his fur as he followed it, finding her in a bedroom. A surprised noise came from his throat as he tilted his head at the bright duck-covered wallpaper, getting Temari's attention from where she stood with her back to him, picking more comfortable clothes to change into later.

Turning around, Temari smirked to see the little terrier staring at the wallpaper with a startled expression. "Horrid, aren't they?" the sandy blonde asked with a slight chuckle.

Shikamaru blinked and looked at Temari. _'You like ducks?' _he wondered, looking from the older woman to the wallpaper and back. The idea seemed horribly unlikely, but rather laughable.

Temari turned back to her bed, and pulled out some casual clothes, tossing them on her bed in a heap, and pulled out a small black bag before she walked out the door, Shikamaru at her heels. The kunoichi walked into the hallway and went to the very end, where she walked to the very end of the hallway, and where the door Shikamaru had assumed was the washroom.

The terrier stiffened visibly as he realised he had just followed her to the bathroom.

Temari turned around and snorted, seeing the paralyzed dog before using her foot to gently push him away. "I'm taking a shower, pervert dog. Go sleep or something." She said before walking into the bathroom.

_'Pervert dog?' _Shikamaru thought disgruntled, _'Ugh, this won't go over well if she finds out I'm Shika_maru_ ... how troublesome.'_ The small terrier yawned, thinking about what the blonde kunoichi had suggested.

_'A nap is always a good idea,' _Shikamaru thought lazily, before trotting over to the living room and finding a cozy spot on the carpet, settling down in it – but not before he had the urge to pace around it a couple of times first – and fell asleep instantly.

**o-O-o-T-o-O-o**

Temari exited the walk-in shower, looking for a towel. Scowling deeply, she found there wasn't one. Every other time she had stayed at this apartment, they had always supplied her with a room with at least three towels. And she had come here a lot ... the sandy blonde growled as she realised this was probably the receptionist's fault.

Making a mental note to set a possibly-lethal trap for the irritating younger woman, Temari tried ringing out her hair to reduce the amount of water she'd leave trailing behind her, not wanting to clean it up later. She reached into her black bag, which she had pulled her shampoo out of before entering the shower, and pulled out a large brush before she opened the door, shivering as freezing cold air blasted over her. Taking a deep breath, she left the washroom, walking quickly towards her room.

**o-O-o-S-o-O-o**

Shikamaru drowsily awoke as he heard the shower get turned off, his ears perking up as he heard the door open a few moments later. Staying in his comfortable spot in the middle of the floor in the living room, he cracked an eye open as he heard wet feet padding towards him.

Then, his eyes snapped open to the size of shurikens as he scrambled to all fours and falling backwards onto his rump as Temari moodily entered the room – naked.

Ears flat against his skull, Shikamaru managed to stumble out of the way as the sand kunoichi stormed past, not even making an effort to cover herself up.

The terrier's wide, shocked eyes followed her until she closed her door in her room, his eyes glued to the door that blocked his eyes from Temari.

_'I. Just. Saw. Troublesome. Woman. _Naked._' _He thought to himself, terrified, shocked, and slightly happy. The terrier fell on its side as the emotion 'happy' registered in his mind, the event he had just witnessed replaying itself in his mind.

It had to be the only time he had ever seen so much skin exposed on anyone other than himself before, and of all people it had to be the troublesome woman. Her skin was lightly tanned and appeared so ... _soft_, which was startling to Shikamaru as until moments ago, nothing about the nineteen year old seemed _soft._ Not her spiky sandy blonde hair, not her sharp teal eyes, not her smug smiles, not her fierce personality, _nothing at all. _The boy felt a strange feeling down _there_, and his eyes bugged out of their sockets as he began banging his head on the floor in sheer horror. He didn't like Temari! Not like that! And he didn't know it was possible for dogs to have ... that when thinking of naked girls! Or well, naked dogs? Shikamaru felt his brain melting, making his thoughts idiotic and probably similar to Naruto's.

The shadow-nin sank to the floor, unable to keep thoughts of the woman out of his head, the same question popping up each time.

Did he really _not _like her like _that_?

* * *

><p><strong>Also, I'm attempting to make two new multiple chapter Harry Potter fanfics (will rotate around Hermione, since she's ALWAYS been my favourite character, ever since book 1) , but I'm being smart and writing maybe five chapters for those first ... they'll most likely be published towards the end of this fanfiction, or when it finishes (noooo)<strong>

**Oh, and last chapter I think I forgot to say thank you so very much for the reviews, so .. Thank you so very much for the reviews! ^_^**

**R&R anything accepted**


	5. Chapter 5

**Blah, that took me longer than I hoped to find this blasted USB.**

**Sorry for the delay guys! At school I've recently been assigned a project for my religion class that will take me three entire months to complete (I am NOT exaggerating, we were told straight up by our teacher) and it involves typing up stuff, so I haven't been able to search for my USB or take time to go on :3**

**This chapter's short, I know, but I wanted to post it before i go to Detroit this weekend! Maybe I'll be able to work on a chapter while I'm there, or get some inspiration _ Fingers crossed!**

* * *

><p><strong>Dog Days<br>Chapter 5**

The sandy blonde kunoichi exited her bedroom, now wearing tight-fitting black shirt and slacks, her hair was down and slightly damp.

"Tch, you look like you just seen a ghost." Temari said to the small terrier puppy, brow raised.

Indeed, Shika's eyes were wide, unblinking as he stared at the door. He was sitting with his rump against the wall, tail hidden. The pup paid no attention to Temari, just kept staring at the doorway.

Temari rolled her eyes and was just entering the kitchen when she heard a knock on her room door. Frowning slightly, the sand kunoichi approached the door and opened it, removing the bolt and turning the lock before she pulled the door back with a yank.

There stood the irritating Inuzuka boy Temari had quarrelled with earlier.

"What're you doing here, brat?" Temari demanded, clearly irritated. "And how in the name of Kami did you find my apartment?"

Damien Inuzuka grinned impishly.

"I'm an Inuzuka, remember? Awesome sense of smell." He sniffed the air, before breaking out into a grin again.

"Just showered, huh?"

Temari's eye twitched. This kid was creepy. Not to mention _extremely _annoying.

"Any idiot could tell that; my hair's _down_ and _damp_." The blonde growled.

The spiky haired Inuzuka's grin seemed to falter, before he quickly covered it back up again.

"Yeah, well, I could smell your shampoo and stuff from outside. I'm second best after that stupid Kiba kid," Damien boasted, puffing his tiny chest out.

Temari grit her teeth and her grip on the door knob tightened. The kid was _flirting_ with her. _No one,_ absolutely _no one_, was permitted to flirt with Temari no Sabaku.

"Listen _kid,_" Temari snarled, putting emphasis on the word 'kid'. "You're what, ten? I'm nearly twenty. Now _scram_."

The Genin grabbed his bright red cape and brought it around him, akin to Count Dracula.

"But I'm _mysterious._" He said, struggling to make his voice sound deep and dark.

Temari snorted.

"You're as 'mysterious' as a sack of potatoes kid. Now beat it before you piss me off."

Damien pouted slightly at her words, and then suddenly fell into a battle stance, dropping his cape.

"But I'm _skilled._" He protested, pulling out a kunai and placing it in his mouth.

"You're as 'skilled' as a log." The kunoichi scoffed, just as the Inuzuka slipped on his long red cape and fell on his back, forgotten kunai clattering onto the floor.

The Inuzuka growled in the back of his throat, before jumping back to his feet, clearly getting angry as he glared at Temari.

"Why won't you give me a chance?" He demanded, shouting.

"Why won't you _leave_?" Temari shouted back, just as a loud high-pitched barking resonated through the apartment.

Temari was about to turn around when a ball of brown fur flew past her face, smashing into Damien, who yelped and fell to the floor, getting easily tangled in his annoying cape.

"Shika!" the sandy blonde shouted, slightly startled still.

Shika was trying to snap at the Inuzuka's face unsuccessfully, as the boy was holding the small puppy around the middle as it thrashed about, now turning its attention to Damien's arms.

"Get off me!" the Genin cried out, flailing around as he tried to get rid of the dog that possessed a surprising amount of strength.

Temari blinked at the display in front of her feeling inwardly amused and relieved, before swooping down on the two and snatching Shika off of the boy with ease.

"Th-that thing's _crazy_!" Damien bellowed as the blonde smirked at him.

"Yeah, yeah, now get lost will ya?" the sand kunoichi asked, waving her hand uncaringly at the Genin as she turned as shut the door in his shocked, angered face before snorting loudly and petting the dog fondly.

"I knew you would be good for something!" she praised happily as she ruffled his fur, grinning widely at him all the while. In all honesty, she was beginning to grow fond of the terrier puppy.

Shika gazed at her proudly, giving out a sharp 'yap' as he wagged his little tail happily.

Setting the little pup down, Temari decided to do some work in her bedroom after grabbing some noodles to eat from her fridge.

**o-O-o-K-o-O-o**

Kiba was on high-alert the next morning as he and Akamaru searched the village at about eight in the morning.

_C'mon, c'mon! Where the hell is Nara?_ The Inuzuka thought angrily, just as he caught a whiff of a familiar scent – Konohamaru.

Akamaru seemed to smell the younger ninja's scent also, for without needing Kiba's shout of surprise, the combat-dog changed directions and darted off towards the training grounds.

The Genin was with his team; his two friends Kiba didn't know were talking by the bushes. He wrinkled his nose in distaste as he caught the boy with glasses' scent – it smelled of snot and that smell people got when they were sick. Yuck. Konohamaru sat by the lake, seeming incredibly bored.

As Kiba and Akamaru burst into the field, the three Genins jumped in fright.

"Ahhh! Don't hurt us!" the boy with the unpleasant smell cried instantly, shielding his snot-covered face and hiding behind a girl with orange hair and rosy cheeks who sent her teammate a glare before getting up and moving away.

Konohamaru flinched as he saw Kiba, his expression confused and nervous as he saw Kiba's irritated and frustrated one.

"K-Kiba?" the brunette with the turquoise cape stammered, a bad feeling washing over him as the older ninja stormed over to him as he dismounted the great white dog that was Akamaru.

"You!" the older boy barked as he pointed an accusing finger at Konohamaru. "Where in the name of Kami is that puppy you offered to look after for a few minutes for me?"

Instantly, Konohamaru's tentative feeling left as he shrugged, turning back to the water.

"The thing had rabies or something," he said as his voice broke, making Kiba's ear twitch, and Akamaru growl, "and it bit me – look!" the boy thrust his hand at Kiba, where deep but small bite marks could be seen.

"I don't care! Besides, it's only a bite - suck it up!" Kiba added angrily. "Second of all, you haven't answered my question!"

The Genin ignored him as he twirled his cape around his finger.

With a growl, Kiba strode over to the boy and grabbed him by the scruff of his cape.

"H-hey! Lemme go! Lemme go!" Konohamaru protested as he flailed about, punching Kiba every now and then.

"Tell me what you did with the dog damn it!" Kiba shouted, all patience gone. What had the kid done to Shikamaru?

Konohamaru's teammates looked like they were about to intervene when Akamaru sent them a warning growl.

"Fine! Fine!" Konohamaru squealed his voice breaking and raising uncontrollably. A vein broke in Kiba's forehead.

"I gave him to some blonde chick! Some kunoichi a bit older than you! I swear!"

Kiba frowned, due to the fact that he found this a little odd, and the fact that he was struggling not to burst out angrily at the kid for his puberty-ridden voice.

"A blonde kunoichi? There are no other blonde kunoichis in Konoha around my age or older, besides Ino and Lady Tsunade."

A frantic shake of the head from Konohamaru.

"No! I mean, the lady wasn't from the village! Uh, um, the sand village! The sand!" Konohamaru insisted, quivering at the rare look of death Kiba gave him.

"Blonde kunoichi from the sand? Doesn't ring a bell ..." Kiba's frown deepened as he failed to think of anyone. "If I find out you're lying, I'm reporting you to the Fifth." The Inuzuka threatened.

Konohamaru's cowering stopped as he scoffed.

"I'm not scared of that ol' Grandma! If Naruto can stand up to her, so can I! I'm the grandson of the Third Hokage!" the Genin exclaimed proudly.

Kiba raised a brow at the boy, before dropping him. "Then I'll tell the Naras on you!"

Konohamaru froze, and in a second he was hugging the older boy's leg, looking up at him with a pleading expression. "No! Anything but that! I'm sorry! I'm _sorry!_"

The spiky haired brunette grinned in victory.

"Then you better hope I find this blonde chick!" he exclaimed at the boy as he shook him from his leg and jumped on Akamaru, the two sprinting out of the training field.

Konohamaru's teammates walked up to him as they saw the ninja fall off of the back of the combat-dog as he got a tree branch to the face.

"K-Konohamaru?" Udon spluttered as he inched closer to his friend.

"Yeah?" the brunette asked as he watched Kiba climb back onto Akamaru's back.

"You do realise you just got threatened by an idiot?" Moegi asked with a sympathetic look at Konohamaru.

"Yep."

"And you _do_ realise he was successful in it?"

"Yep."

"... Y-you do realise th-that was _K-Kiba_?"

"... Uh huh."

The three facepalmed themselves as the Inuzuka and his dog ran into yet another branch, this time the older ninja got caught on the branch as his dog sprinted on, leaving him just as the branch broke, Kiba falling to the ground in a explosion of dirt, a curse leaving his mouth as he got back to his feet and ran after his dog limping saying 'ow' all the while.

"Konohamaru, _you suck at life._"

"I know." The brown haired Genin said dejectedly as he hung his head in sadness.

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><p><strong>I tried to inject some last second humour there, and yes Kiba may have been a little OC.<strong>

**Also! I forgot to thank 0rnz to Kiba using his sense of smell to find Shikamaru/Shika :3 THanks for that! i utterly forgot!**

**And glad to know you guys are enjoying the story (:**

**R&R, you guys know the drill! Anything accepted!**


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